This hybrid event, held at the Seminar Room on the 2nd Floor of Labtek IXA SAPPK ITB and via Zoom Meeting, featured speakers including Dr. Ir. Lily Tambunan, M.T., an Architecture lecturer at ITB from the Building Technology Research Group (KK TB).

She shared her research experience with ITB Master’s Program in Architecture students on the utilization of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) as sustainable materials through a presentation titled "Utilization of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) as Sustainable Materials". They observed that the residue from waste incineration, or MSWI Bottom Ash (MSWI BA), is not being utilized effectively, even though this material contains silica that can serve as an alternative to sand in brick making.

“We aim to identify the performance of bricks from MSWI BA, then compare them with other bricks widely used by the public, and calculate the extent of waste reduction achieved by using MSWI BA as a brick material,” she said.

She explained that her research showed that the composition with the best performance and the most recommended is the one containing 30 percent of MSWI BA. Comparisons with clay brick and lightweight concrete also show that MSWI BA bricks can compete with these materials in terms of water absorption and compressive strength, and can reduce waste by up to 27,793 tons.

"This is only preliminary research and will be followed by further studies to understand how the silica content affects the performance of MSWI BA bricks, assessment of their life cycle, and analysis of the overall construction costs," she added.

Reporter: Asya Aulia Sukma (Architecture, 2021)
Translator: Hanna Daniela Ayu (Aerospace Engineering, 2021)
Editor: Hanifa Juliana (Urban and Regional Planning, 2020)